1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monolithic capacitor, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a monolithic capacitor having high capacitance and which includes a plurality of monolithic ceramic capacitor elements and metal terminals, and used, for example, as a substitute for a tantalum electrolytic capacitor for smoothing a power circuit in a DCxe2x80x94DC converter, or other suitable uses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A monolithic capacitor provided with metal terminals is used in order to improve thermal shock resistance by ensuring bending strength and by relieving thermal stress. In such a monolithic capacitor, monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are supported by metal terminals so as not to contact a substrate. Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 1-112032, metal terminals are bent. By using the techniques described above, it is also possible to decrease the difference in thermal expansion between a substrate having a high thermal expansion coefficient, such as an aluminum substrate, and monolithic ceramic capacitor elements.
In such a monolithic capacitor, when a plurality of monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are formed, external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are partially connected to each other by a conductive resin or a solder paste.
However, with respect to the monolithic ceramic capacitor in which the external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are partially joined to each other by the conductive resin or the solder paste, thermal stress is concentrated at the joints, and cracks may occur in the joints and the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements, resulting in a decrease in electrostatic capacity.
In order to overcome the problems described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a monolithic capacitor having high thermal shock resistance while avoiding all of the problems of the prior art.
In accordance with various a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a monolithic capacitor includes a plurality of monolithic ceramic capacitor elements provided with external electrodes at both ends thereof, solder layers arranged on the entire surfaces of the external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements, and metal terminals electrically connected to the external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements. The monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are stacked on each other and are joined to each other by the solder layers, and the external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements are electrically connected to each other by the solder layers.
In the monolithic capacitor of various preferred embodiments of the present invention, preferably, the metal terminals are directly connected to at least one of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements by the solder layers. In such a case, the metal terminals may not be directly connected to at least one of the other monolithic ceramic capacitor elements.
In the monolithic capacitor of various preferred embodiments of the present invention, preferably, each metal terminal includes a middle section, a tip section located on one edge of the middle section so as to face the middle section with a space therebetween, and an end section located on the other edge of the middle section, in which the tip section imparts spring characteristics to the metal terminal and is connected to the external electrode of the monolithic ceramic capacitor element by the solder layer. In such a case, a film which is resistant to soldering may be provided on the internal surface of the metal terminal.
Furthermore, in the monolithic capacitor of various preferred embodiments of the present invention, a cut-out may be provided on the metal terminal for adjusting the reactance component.
In the monolithic capacitor of preferred embodiments of the present invention, since the solder layers are disposed on the entire surfaces of the external electrodes of the monolithic ceramic capacitors, thermal stress is dispersed by the solder layers, and cracks are prevented from occurring in the joints of the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements and the monolithic ceramic capacitor elements. Therefore, the thermal shock resistance is greatly improved in the monolithic capacitor of preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Other features, elements, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings.